Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 77,874 Shares of Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) by 28.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 349,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,874 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $11,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in IBCP. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Independent Bank by 86.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 109,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,768,000 after buying an additional 50,681 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,080,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,392,000 after purchasing an additional 12,851 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 52.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 331,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,399,000 after purchasing an additional 113,408 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the first quarter worth about $258,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 53,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on IBCP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Independent Bank from $27.00 to $37.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Transactions at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Christina Keller sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.85, for a total value of $45,990.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,163 shares in the company, valued at $136,754.55. This represents a 25.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.45% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of IBCP opened at $37.74 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $788.54 million, a PE ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.99. Independent Bank Co. has a one year low of $20.50 and a one year high of $39.52.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $77.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.05 million. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.93% and a return on equity of 15.26%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Co. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Independent Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in rural and suburban communities in Michigan. It offers checking and savings accounts, commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing, mortgage lending, and safe deposit box services.